KR101581975B1 - Vehicle key, and method for locating a motor vehicle within a close range with the help of a vehicle key - Google Patents

Abstract

A vehicle key 5 for wireless communication with the vehicle 1 is described. The vehicle key (5) includes a wireless transmitter (7) for transmitting a wireless signal to the vehicle (1). The vehicle key 5 further includes a radio receiver 6 and / or an acoustic receiver 6 and is connected to the transceiver 2 of the vehicle 1 in order to be able to locate the vehicle 1 within a short distance. Bidirectional communication is enabled via the wireless receiver 6 and / or the acoustic receiver 6 and the wireless transmitter 7. A corresponding method for locating the vehicle 1 with the aid of the vehicle key 5 is also described.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for locating a vehicle within a short distance by the help of a vehicle key and a vehicle key,

The present invention relates to a vehicle key for wireless communication with a vehicle, and a method for locating a vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle using a vehicle key, with a wireless transmitter for transmitting a wireless signal to the vehicle.

It is generally associated with the prior art that a wireless vehicle key that transmits a wireless signal to a vehicle and that causes a central locking system provided in the vehicle to lock or open the vehicle door and trunk is used to open and close the vehicle. In this context, the opening and closing of the vehicle is provided in a conventional manner, represented by an image or audible cognitive signal. Often, the vehicle's blinking indicator lights up once or twice. In some cases, a quiet acoustic signal is also generated that is in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle and signals the driver that the closure process has been successfully performed. Under certain circumstances, these signals also help to find cars in large parking lots. However, flashing indicator lights or audible signals may not be well detected so that they can reliably facilitate the discovery of the vehicle.

It is also known to initiate a radio signal that does not initiate the closure process via the vehicle key but activates the horn of the vehicle. Usually, the horn signal is very loud and can be easily detected and the vehicle can thus be found in a simple way. However, the horn signal can interfere significantly with other road users. In closed spaces (multi-storey car parks) or in the inner city, horn-blowing is often not allowed for this reason.

DE 10 2005 035 242 A1 describes a system for versatile traffic surveillance using a plurality of sensors, which can be used to detect, record and punish violations of the road traffic regulations of a vehicle individually or as a timed root zone Is monitored. Using such a system, it may also be possible to find a parked vehicle. However, this requires almost the entire coverage by this surveillance system, which is undesirable and not possible.

From DE 696 10 626 T2, modules and methods for communicating with objects and / or for observing and particularly locating vehicles are known, which can be used in close proximity and again, for example after stealing, in a simple manner and again via known technical systems Used to find cars. To do this, it is proposed to use three systems simultaneously to find a location, which may be a large area paging network (wireless paging service), a cellular mobile radio network, And a local area network by a band-widening transmission method (code division multiple access network), which are combined with a system provided to the vehicle. A wide area of the paging network is used for the main part of the communication and thus preserves the capacity of the mobile wireless network. The mobile phone wireless network is used for bidirectional communication with the vehicle. The third network includes, for example, a receiver that can reliably receive data from a receiving beacon and send data back to the local receiver. This third network, in the case of theft, is used to send data to the moving vehicle and then draws attention, for example by audible and / or video signals, or deactivates the function of the vehicle. However, such a system is not suitable for facilitating the discovery of a vehicle, for example in a large parking lot, because the accuracy is not sufficient and the technical means is too complicated.

In some cases, it is also known to incorporate appropriate locating functionality in other mobile devices, such as mobile phones or PDAs. However, this requires that the driver of the vehicle always carry these additional devices. In addition, a separate technical setting of the additional device is required, which is often found to be fault-sensitive and complex, especially in recent mobile devices.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to propose a system which allows vehicles to be found within short distances by simple means without additional devices.

This object is achieved through the features of claims 1 and 9. In a vehicle key of the kind mentioned at the outset, for this purpose, the vehicle key has a radio receiver and / or an acoustic receiver, and bidirectional communication with the transceiver of the vehicle is set by the radio receiver and / or the acoustic receiver and the radio transmitter / RTI > As a result, it is possible that the vehicle key not only represents a radio signal for opening and closing the vehicle and activating the function of the other vehicle, but also able to receive, process and evaluate information from the vehicle itself.

Bi-directional communication can be implemented by wireless communication in any transmission direction. This is technically particularly simple because the radio transmitter and the radio receiver can be structured in a simple manner as a transceiver. This is more advantageous than providing transmitters and receivers in the form of separate elements and requires less installation space. The latter is particularly advantageous for wireless keys. According to an alternative embodiment, the two-way communication according to the invention can also be implemented by different kinds of communication. It is therefore possible to use wireless communication which is also used for the closing function for communication from the wireless key to the vehicle. According to the present invention, other forms of communication with advanced information content, especially for the desired localized location function, can also be used for the return communication of the vehicle to the wireless key. In particular, sonic or ultrasonic communication, which may be received by a suitable microphone, such as an acoustic receiver of parts of the wireless key, is suitable for this.

The received information includes information about the position of the vehicle that can be displayed as a result, through the appropriate display means of the key, in order to enable finding the position of the vehicle, particularly within the vicinity, based on the key. By this means, locating is accomplished by the vehicle itself, in which all the necessary functions to locate the vehicle key and location are accomplished without a separate technical add-on.

Particularly suitable for this two-way local area communication according to the invention, the radio communication is set up so that the radio transmitter and the radio receiver communicate in the UHF to SHF frequency bands. UHF (microwave) frequencies typically cover wavelengths from 0.3 to 3 GHz. The SHS (ultra-high frequency) frequency band of about 3 ~ 30 ㎓ is connected to this frequency range. Thus, in particular, ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) frequency bands, such as 434 MHz, 868 MHz, 2.4 GHz or higher, about 60 GHz, which are available as freely usable frequency bands, are considered . This frequency band, which is primarily proposed in accordance with the present invention, can be used to ensure a suitable radio range within a short distance and also within a building such as a multi-storey car park and to establish a radio direction detection link between the vehicle key and the vehicle .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the positioning device is configured to establish a wireless direction detection link between the vehicle and the vehicle key, the vehicle is a direction detector, the vehicle key is an object, or vice versa. In this context, it is advantageous if the vehicle itself is a sought-after object that is responsible for direction detection and in which case the size of the direction-finding antenna can be implemented in a simple manner in a desired size within the vehicle . After the direction detection information is made available, it is transmitted to the receiver of the vehicle key, for example via an electronic compass which is implemented in the vehicle key or in the form of a compass needle. In contrast, if the vehicle key is responsible for the direction finding function and the vehicle is a required object, the metallic key of the vehicle key can be used as the direction finding antenna. If necessary, the person holding the key can also act as a direction-finding antenna through key-hand-engagement. However, in general, these direction-finding antennas are not sufficiently directional, leading to large uncertainties in direction detection. Under certain circumstances, if at least directional detection is not possible, a direction-finding antenna that can be electrically coupled to the key and has a better directional effect can be provided. In this variant, however, the direction detection information no longer needs to be transmitted to the vehicle key from the vehicle after it, since the information is directly available to the vehicle key and is already relevant to the coordinate system of interest to the bearer of the key.

Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a sound wave or an ultrasonic signal can be sent by the vehicle for the purpose of locating and can be received by the acoustic receiver of the vehicle key, especially the microphone. In order to find the position, i. E. To measure the direction and / or distance, the propagation time of the sound signal or its intensity can be evaluated. The strength of the sound wave signal corresponds to an evaluation of the received field strength in the case of radio direction detection.

Another possibility for locating the vehicle through the vehicle key is based on having the receiver of the vehicle positioning system (GPS, Galileo, etc.) with the vehicle key, As shown in FIG. By this means, the measurement of the relative position of the vehicle and the key is possible in a simple manner through the absolute coordinates of the fixed coordinate system of the satellite positioning system.

According to a simple variant of this embodiment, it can be provided that the position of the vehicle is transmitted to the key by means of a position determining device of the vehicle provided as part of the navigation system when the vehicle is locked. When a driver of a car searches for his vehicle, he activates the search function of the vehicle key, which then measures his own position in the coordinate system of the satellite positioning system and, A relative comparison of the values indicates the direction to the vehicle. Therefore, this method is based on evaluating the difference between two position marks on both the vehicle and the vehicle key, and both the vehicle key and the car have a receiver of the satellite positioning system. From the difference between the position reported by the vehicle and the position measured by the key, the direction and distance of the vehicle can be measured. Thus, the indication may be, for example, "southwest 600 m ". If provided by an electronic compass in the video-type display of the key, the arrow can also be directly displayed, which carries information of "600 m in the direction of the arrow ".

According to an alternative embodiment, it is also possible for the receiver of the satellite positioning system of the vehicle key to store this position and to use it later when the vehicle operator wishes to find the position of the vehicle with the aid of his vehicle key, It is possible. In this case, in order to calculate the position of the vehicle, it is sufficient according to the present invention to calculate the time difference of the coordinates of the vehicle key with respect to the stored coordinates of the vehicle. In this case, there may be the following kinds of indications: "600 m southwest" and "20 m = 8 m above". In the last-mentioned variant of the invention, the vehicle key need not necessarily have bidirectional communication, in which case it is possible to have a receiver of the satellite positioning system and to configure the position of the vehicle key by the position of the parked vehicle It is sufficient to provide a vehicle key having a positioning device that is capable of positioning the vehicle. According to the present invention, in addition to the above-described positioning options based on bidirectional communication, these variations may also be used to increase the reliability and accuracy of the system.

According to a preferred embodiment, it is therefore provided that the vehicle key has both a positioning device having a receiver of a satellite positioning system and a positioning device for setting a wireless direction detection link, in which case the various position information items are combined It is because. It is therefore possible, for example, to require the vehicle key to send a wireless message to the vehicle and to require the vehicle to send its position back to the key at the coordinates of the satellite positioning system, when a locating function is required. The transmission process can be used simultaneously as a radio direction detection link, so that two separate evaluation methods for locating the vehicle are available by means of keys and are particularly reliable and precise positioning is possible.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to make it possible to display the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle key after completing the positioning, the vehicle key has a video-type display for displaying the relative position of the vehicle to the vehicle key Lt; / RTI > To this end, the display can be configured in the form of a display for displaying an image compass indicating the direction of the car in the form of a simple arrow display. As an alternative, an actual compass representing the north in each case may also appear, which is related to information in the direction in which the vehicle can be found (e.g., the SE side). If desired, a character display for displaying location information may also be provided.

In an alternative or supplemental embodiment, the vehicle key may also have an audio-type display for indicating the relative position of the vehicle to the vehicle key. In this case, especially if the position of the vehicle key changes with respect to the vehicle, the direction can be indicated by the height, speed and beeping tone of the repetition, for example the distance and direction from the car. The driver of the vehicle to find his vehicle thus actuates the locating function of his key and changes his position. The audio-type display that is changed during this process provides him with information regarding the location of his vehicle.

If necessary, a route finder may also be incorporated into the video-type display if sufficient storage capacity for storing the navigation system is present in the key. If necessary, it can also be used to detect specific targets independently of the vehicle's locating.

According to a preferred embodiment, it is proposed that the vehicle key has a battery as a power source, since the power consumed by the proposed locating method is relatively high and the battery is often required to be replaced for this reason in a vehicle key provided in this way. This can be configured to be inductively charged when the vehicle moves. In order to avoid that the locking function of the key no longer works reliably by the discharged battery, according to the invention, the battery can only be provided with the positioning function. The locking function of the key can be carried out in a conventional manner through a battery which usually provides sufficient power for several years.

In view of the above-mentioned functions, the wireless key proposed according to the invention may in some cases also be integrated as a software solution in a suitable power supply and in other electronic devices with video and audio-like display means. In particular, in most cases mobile phones, PDAs, smart phones or similar electronic devices that users have on a daily basis are appropriate for this. This variant of the invention has the advantage that no additional vehicle keys are required, which additional electronic elements must necessarily be integrated. According to the present invention, it is understood that the required wireless key is also such a solution.

The present invention also relates to a method for locating a vehicle within a short distance by using the aforementioned vehicle key. In this context, it is provided that the vehicle key measures the relative distance between the vehicle key and the vehicle or the position of the vehicle key and the position of the vehicle, and indicates the relative direction between the vehicle key and the vehicle.

According to the present invention, the vehicle key and the position of the vehicle can be measured by radio direction detection between the vehicle and the vehicle key, so that two-way wireless communication is established between the vehicle and the vehicle key.

According to a preferred embodiment of the method, the distance between the vehicle key and the vehicle is used as the direction finding signal and can be measured from the field strength of the received radio signal.

According to a variant of the proposed method, the vehicle key can send a position inquiry to the vehicle, for example via a radio signal. At this time, the vehicle emits short acoustic waves or ultrasonic pulses (ultrasonic bursts) which are received in the vehicle key and evaluated to find the position of the vehicle.

To this end, it may be provided that the vehicle key measures the propagation time of a sound wave or an ultrasonic pulse. The vehicle key is informed of the origination time of a sound wave or an ultrasonic signal in its own time system, for example, by a location request origination or a wireless return message that is executed as part of bi-directional communication. The reception time can be measured by the key in a simple manner when the signal is detected by an acoustic receiver, particularly a microphone.

In order to indicate to the user whether the user is away from the vehicle or towards the vehicle, according to the present invention, the vehicle key sequentially sends a position request to the vehicle and in each case the received strength of the ultrasonic or sonic pulse in the vehicle , It may also be provided to indicate the received instrument strength of the received radio (direction detection) signal, respectively.

Alternatively or additionally, the vehicle key can also measure its current position and compare it to the location of the vehicle by, for example, locating the location with a satellite positioning system such as GPS, Galileo, etc.

In a preferred embodiment of this method, the vehicle key can store the location of the vehicle in a local memory when the vehicle is locked. For this purpose, the position of the vehicle can be transmitted by vehicle to the vehicle key in two-way wireless communication. Alternatively, it is possible that the vehicle key provided with the receiver of the satellite positioning system stores and judges its own position when the vehicle is locked. In this case, the vehicle key does not necessarily have to be provided with bidirectional wireless communication. However, the option of two-way radio communication is suitable when a plurality of users having different vehicle keys share one vehicle. After being parked by a user, if the vehicle has been moved by a second user with a different key, information about the current location of the vehicle must actually be transmitted by the vehicle key via the corresponding bidirectional communication.

If the display of the vehicle key has an electronic compass, a directional indication with a description of the distance to find the vehicle for the vehicle key can occur independently of the alignment of the keys. Alternatively, for example, by means of a metallic locking portion of the key, the preferred direction of the key can be used to indicate the relative direction, and the direction of the required and positioned vehicle with respect thereto is indicated.

The driver of the vehicle can thus easily find his vehicle even if he has not parked himself. This is a common problem of a car rental company in a family resident in the city sharing a car without a fixed parking space or in a large rental place, such as an airport for example.

Other advantages, features, and possible applications of the present invention are also obtained from the following exemplary embodiments and description of the drawings. In this context, all the features shown and / or described by way of any combination or by themselves are indicative of the subject matter of the present invention and are also distinct from their reference in their references or claims.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a vehicle key with a locating function according to the present invention together with an associated vehicle.

Figure 1 shows a vehicle 1 with a transceiver 2 as a positioning device with a satellite positioning system, in particular a receiver 3 of a GPS or Galileo receiver. Due to the loss of spatial resolution, there may also be direction detection in mobile phone systems of GSM and UMTS mobile wireless networks. The receiver 3 of the satellite positioning system is thus connected to the transceiver 2 for wireless communication so that the position of the vehicle 1 measured by the satellite positioning system can be transmitted to the transceiver 2 Can be originated.

The vehicle 1 can be provided with a function of locating other vehicle 4 that is not addressed by the vehicle key 5 indicated by this locating function because the locating function is not provided or because the vehicle is transmitting another code or another frequency, It is parked in the parking space.

The vehicle key 5 shown schematically has a unit represented as one unit for the radio transmitter 7 and the radio receiver 6 which are configured for establishing a two-way radio communication with the transceiver 2 of the vehicle 1 .

A wireless direction detection link is established which enables the relative distance and direction between the vehicle and the vehicle key to be measured between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle key 5, in particular in the UHF or SHF frequency band, by way of two-way radio communication It is possible.

To this end, the vehicle 1 may serve as a direction detector and the vehicle key 5 may serve as an object. This has the advantage that a sufficiently large and accurate direction-finding antenna can be installed in the vehicle. The obtained relative position information item is then transmitted to the vehicle key 5 via bidirectional wireless communication and displayed on its display 8.

Alternatively, the vehicle key 5 can also be constituted as a metallic locking portion 9 as a direction-finding antenna, in most cases as a direction detector, and the vehicle 1 can be configured as an object. If necessary, the direction finding antenna is reinforced or enlarged by the connection of the vehicle locking operator with the metallic lock. Also, a direction detection antenna that can be separately integrated into the key or electrically connected to the key can be used. For example, a ferrite rod antenna can be used as a direction detection antenna in a low frequency range. In the higher frequency range, similar antennas with Yagi, parabolic, multi patch or higher directionality are possible.

For example, it is also possible to measure the distance through the propagation time of a signal to be acoustically transmitted through radio-induced propagation time measurement. To this end, the vehicle key sends a position request wirelessly to the vehicle and the vehicle responds by sending an ultrasonic signal propagating at the speed of the sound wave. The position request thus triggers the emission of an ultrasonic signal. The vehicle key therefore knows its own time on the basis of the transmission time of the ultrasonic signal coinciding with the transmission of the ultrasonic signal within the range of measurement accuracy due to the high propagation velocity, and the normal signal propagation and / Can be additionally considered.

Through the microphone of the vehicle key, the distance can be measured through propagation time measurement and the direction from the vehicle key to the vehicle can be measured by measuring the signal peak across the direction.

This kind of evaluation can deliver very good results over short distances up to about 200 meters unless the echo leading to signal deformation is outstanding. Therefore, short signal pulses are used according to the present invention. By this means, a very space-saving, cost-effective and quiet positioning of the vehicle within close range is also achieved through the acoustic method and the vehicle can continue to emit such ultrasonic signals, since sufficient power is available. This increases the chances of a reliable location.

Apart from the setting of the radio direction detection link, the key 5 also comprises a receiver 10 of the satellite positioning system, which locates the position of the key with the coordinates of this positioning system and measures the position of the key.

This receiver 10 of the satellite positioning system is a positioning device which compares the position of the vehicle 1 with the vehicle key 5 to indicate the direction of the vehicle 1 relative to the vehicle key 5, Lt; / RTI >

To this end, the display 8 of the key 5 is provided with an electronic compass 11 for indicating the direction toward the vehicle 1 via an arrow to the metallic locking portion 9 of the vehicle key 5 . Alternatively, the electronic compass 11 can also normally indicate the north direction and can be provided with a textual indication of the distance and direction in which the vehicle 1 is located relative to the vehicle key 5 on the display 8. [

The position of the vehicle 1 in the coordinates of the satellite positioning system is obtained by the corresponding key via wireless communication from the receiver 3 of the vehicle 1. [ Alternatively, when the vehicle 1 is locked, the receiver 10 of the satellite positioning system of the vehicle key measures the position of the vehicle key 5 and stores it as the position of the vehicle 1, It is also possible to use it for comparison with the current key position.

As a result, it is possible to find the position of the vehicle 1 without having to provide additional electronic devices through simple technical means.

1: vehicle 2: transceiver
3: receiver of satellite positioning system 4: vehicle
5: vehicle key 6: radio receiver / sound receiver
7: Radio transmitter 8: Display
9: metallic lock 10: receiver of the satellite positioning system
11: Electronic Compass

Claims (17)

A vehicle key (5) for wireless communication with a vehicle (1), having a wireless transmitter (7) for transmitting a wireless signal to the vehicle (1)
The vehicle key 5 has a radio receiver 6 and / or an acoustic receiver 6 and bi-directional communication with the transceiver 2 of the vehicle 1 is performed by the radio receiver 6 and / And the radio transmitter 7,
Wherein the vehicle key has a battery as a power supply and the battery is configured to be inductively charged when the vehicle moves, and the battery is provided only to the locating function of the vehicle. The method according to claim 1,
Characterized in that the radio transmitter (7) and the radio receiver (6) are set for communication at UHF frequency or SHF frequency. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) has a positioning device configured to measure the relative direction and / or distance between the vehicle (1) and the vehicle key (5) via bidirectional wireless communication. The method of claim 3,
Characterized in that the positioning device (6, 7, 2) is configured for establishing a wireless direction detection link between the vehicle key (5) and the vehicle (1). The method of claim 3,
Characterized in that the positioning device has a receiver (10) of a satellite positioning system and the positioning device is arranged to adjust the position of the vehicle key (5) by the position of the parked vehicle (1) key. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) has a video type display (8) for displaying the relative position of the vehicle (1) relative to the vehicle key (5). 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) has an audio-type display for displaying the relative position of the vehicle (1) relative to the vehicle key (5). 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the vehicle key (5) has a battery as a power supply unit. A method for locating a vehicle (1) within a short distance using a vehicle key configured in accordance with claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle key 5 measures the position of the vehicle 1 and the position of the vehicle key 5 or the relative distance between the vehicle key 5 and the vehicle 1 and measures the relative distance between the vehicle key 5 and the vehicle 1 And the relative direction of the vehicle. 10. The method of claim 9,
Characterized in that the radio direction detection is carried out between the vehicle key (5) and the vehicle (1). 11. The method of claim 10,
Characterized in that the distance between the vehicle (1) and the vehicle key (5) is measured from the instrumentation intensity of the received radio direction detection signal. 10. The method of claim 9,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) sends a position request to the vehicle (1) and the vehicle (1) emits short sonic pulses or ultrasonic pulses. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the vehicle key (5) measures the propagation time of a sound wave or an ultrasonic pulse. 14. The method of claim 13,
Characterized in that during the measurement of the propagation time an average is achieved over a plurality of sound waves or ultrasonic pulses. 12. The method of claim 11,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) sequentially issues a plurality of position requests to the vehicle (1) and the received instrument strength or intensity of a sonic pulse or ultrasonic pulse of the radio signal is displayed on the vehicle key A method for locating a vehicle within a short distance using a vehicle key. 10. The method of claim 9,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) measures the current position of the vehicle key by locating in the satellite positioning system and compares the current position of the vehicle key with the position of the vehicle (1) A method for locating a vehicle within a vehicle. 17. The method of claim 16,
Characterized in that the vehicle key (5) stores the position of the vehicle (1) in the local memory when the vehicle (1) is locked.

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